nYko WormCam

When Nintendo's Game Boy Advance debuted a few years ago, gamers got excited for two reasons: games and peripherals. And though game titles have been coming at a regular rate, we haven't really seen accessories that take full advantage of the power and versatility of the GBA. Thankfully, nYko has done something to remedy this with the introduction of their WormCam digital camera for the Game Boy Advance.

Basically, the WormCam converts the GBA into a portable digital camera. It can shoot and store up to twenty color pictures and upload them to a PC. It also boasts a photo editing option, a hands-free automatic timer, motion detecting technology, a bright sunlight filter, a backup battery to store pictures when detached from the GBA, and more power than the original Apple II.

But how well does it work? Pretty well for the price. Though it has some trouble in low light due to the absence of a flash, it performs admirably in regular lighting and daylight. The overall quality of the photos is actually quite surprising: colors look good and detail comes through to an impressive degree. In order get the right picture the lens can be rotated 180 degrees and adjusted to three focus areas: close, average and long distance. You can also modify the light values to fit the environment from bright light to normal to dim to low light. The GBA interface is simple and self-explanatory while the PC uploading software (program CD and link cable are included) is a breeze.

Actual WormCam Footage

The extras are a nice touch also. The photo editing option is basic (draw lines, shapes, add text and flip pictures vertically), but fun to use. The Spycam option lets the WormCam automatically take timed pictures in twenty second to sixty minute intervals unattended until the memory is full. The motion detector weeds out identical images captured in Spycam mode to prevent duplicates and take full advantage of memory space.

The only real complaint is the lack of a viewfinder of some sort; the darn thing is a complete bear to aim. It usually took two to three tries to get the target in the frame. Maybe it gets easier with practice, but a clear plastic window would have helped tremendously.

Aside from that, this is an excellent product. For the price of a game, the WormCam is an exceptionally sophisticated camera that delivers more than it promises. For about forty bucks you can get one just about anywhere games are sold or online at nYko.com.